US deploys missile interceptor ship

Seoul: The United States deployed a missile interceptor ship from South Korea on Monday, a military spokesman said, days ahead of a North Korean rocket launch widely seen as a long-range missile test that violates UN sanctions.

The launch presents the first significant challenge by the prickly state to US President Barack Obama, who will discuss Pyongyang's intentions with global leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao this week at the G20 summit in London.

The United States, however, has no plans to shoot down the rocket in a test seen by Washington as part of Pyongyang's goal to eventually develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday.

"I would say we're not prepared to do anything about it," Gates said when asked if the Pentagon planned to shoot down the missile.

"If we had an aberrant missile, one that looked like it was headed for Hawaii, we might consider it," he said, adding the Pentagon does not believe North Korea can put a warhead on the missile or reach the US West Coast.

US forces in Korea dispatched one Aegis-equipped destroyer yesterday and plans to send another one later in the day from the South Korean port of Busan, a spokesman said without offering further details.

Local media quoted informed sources as saying the vessels with sophisticated radar will monitor the launch, which Pyongyang has said is planned for April 4-8. South Korea also plans to dispatch one of its missile intercepting destroyers closer to the launch date, officials have said.

Japan deployed two missile-intercepting vessels to waters off its west coast at the weekend and another off its Pacific coast.

The North Korean rocket is supposed to drop booster stages to the east and west of Japan. Government officials said Tokyo is poised to shoot down debris that poses a threat to its public.

North Korea has installed the three-stage rocket on a launch pad at its Musudan-ri missile base on the east coast but it was unclear what was at the top of the rocket, the Institute for Science and International Security said based on an analysis of satellite imagery.